Officer says she wasn't aware Confederate flag offends some

ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) - A police officer fired for flying the Confederate battle flag at her suburban Atlanta home says she had no idea the emblem was controversial, and is appealing her termination.

Former Roswell police Sgt. Silvia Cotriss tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she'd been flying the battle flag below the American flag in front of her house in nearby Woodstock for more than a year with no complaints.

The 20-year veteran officer told the Atlanta newspaper that if she'd known the flag offended someone, she wouldn't have done it.

The paper reports that on July 11, a man living nearby saw the flag in Cotriss' yard and complained to Roswell's police chief, which led to her firing. The newspaper reports that the man said Cotriss' police vehicle was in the driveway, but Cotriss denies that.

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